Navigation

Have you ever considered a vocation to the priesthood or the religious life?

Monday, May 10, 2010

Testimonial: Why I chose to be a priest

Deacon John J. Eckert, who will be ordained a priest of the Diocese of Charlotte, N.C., early next month, wrote an account of his decision to become a priest in the June issue of The Priest magazine. Here's how he starts his piece:

Seven of us in my class at the Pontifical College Josephinum will be ordained this year. For our small class, timing has seemed to work out in our favor. During our first year of seminary, we were fortunate to experience together the monumental passing of our mutual role model, our Holy Father (for some of us the only one we had known), Pope John Paul II. Then we rejoiced together as we heard the words “ Habemus papam ,” and witnessed Joseph Cardinal Ratzinger become Pope Benedict XVI.

Last year, during the Year of St. Paul, we had an opportunely-timed class on the writings of the Apostle to the Gentiles and also had the good fortune to take a class trip to Rome where we visited inspiring Pauline sites such as the magnificent Basilica of St. Paul Outside the Walls. The most fortuitous bit of good timing for the seven of us, as well as for all men called to the Sacred Order of Presbyter this year, is to be ordained during this “Year for Priests.”

With the excitement of ordination quickly approaching and time in seminary coming to an end, it is valuable to reflect on the fundamental reasons of why I am at this point and, mainly, why I chose to say yes to this vocation. I am sure my brother deacons share with me the common experience of being asked several times during our years of formation, “Why do you want to be a priest?”